Along with taking the wraps off a concept folding phone sporting its new Infinity Flex display, Samsung presented the One UI at its Developer Conference yesterday. You would assume that every Samsung phone that is tipped to get the Android Pie would get the new user interface too but apparently, that’s not the case. In a report by Tom’s Guide, Samsung has confirmed that Galaxy S8, S8+, and the Note 8 will not be receiving the One UI. Find out more about it.

A New UI For Modern Smartphones

One UI is basically a new design language, which will facilitate the one-handed use of gigantic displays. Co-created with Google and the Android developer community, the One UI has a clean user interface, with the most frequently used icons perched at the bottom of the screen so that they are accessible using your thumb. There is a ‘Viewing Area’ at the top which will display information such as messages. Considering how tall today’s smartphones are, such a user interface definitely makes sense.

The new interface partially builds on the Samsung Experience UX, but as a whole, this is a revamped version with major improvements and changes. One UI will get rid of distractions and clutter for a more seamless experience and a system-wide dark mode will also be a part of the new interface.

Only 2018 Flagship Phones Will Get The One UI

The new, user-focused UX will be available as an Open Beta starting this month for the residents of the U.S., South Korea, and Germany. The final version will be rolled out to the Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus (review)and Galaxy Note 9 (review)in January 2019 along with Android Pie update. According to a new report, last year’s Samsung Galaxy S8 (review), Galaxy S8 Plus and Galaxy Note 8 will not get the One UI interface. Although, the news is not confirmed yet, the owners of these devices will miss out on a streamlined software experience if it is true.

Given that Samsung had itself confirmed that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 would be getting the Android Pie, it is hard to wrap our heads around the fact that these phones would not be getting the UX. Just like the Samsung Experience 9.0 was the company’s UX for Android 8.0 Oreo and the Samsung Experience 9.5 is its UX for the Android 8.1 Oreo, the Android 9 Pie based UX should logically be arriving on all the phones that will be getting the Android 9 Pie. Samsung will most likely not go back on its promise of rolling out the Android Pie to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8, but it is also unlikely that the company will release multiple versions of it. However, if this happens, the company will use a new iteration of Samsung Experience to bring Android 9 to older phones and continue working on the One UI for newer devices.

Since the One UI has been made for bigger phones, logically the Galaxy Note 8 should get it too as it sports a huge 6.3-inch display, which is only an inch shorter than that of the Galaxy Note 9. There is also a possibility that the new interface would not go down with the hardware of the older phones without slowing them down, prompting Samsung to keep the One UI for the most recent smartphones.

While we wait for Samsung to chime in to clear the air, check out the company’s prototype folding phone below.

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